478 episodes
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy Best of the Left
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Expertly-curated progressive politics, news, and culture produced by leftist humans, not algorithms or AI. This is an award-winning podcast that dives deeply into a wide range of national and international issues facing society and governments. We draw from hundreds of sources of progressive news and commentary. Est. 2006.
Save time by listening to a range of perspectives on a focused topic in each episode and be introduced to new sources you will not have come across on your own!
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Shifting Populations, Shifting Politics: The European elections show a shift toward the hard right over fears of immigration and scarcity
Air Date 6/21/2024
The European elections could have been worse but they weren't great. Shifting politics among mainstream parties is legitimizing far-right policies at the same time as people's concerns over immigration is being reflected in a willingness to vote for far-right parties.
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Transcript
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SEE FULL SHOW NOTES
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: Clear Shift Toward the Far Right Anti-Immigrant Nationalists Gain Ground Across Europe - Democracy Now! - Air Date 6-11-24
KP 2: Europe Slides to the Right Unpacking the EU Parliamentary elections. - UNFTR - Air Date 6-15-24
KP 3: How the EU Parliament Voted This Year - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 6-12-24
KP 4: Does the economy matter to the far right? - Business Beyond - Air Date 5-31-24
KP 5: How Deep Does Right Wing Extremism Go In The Republican Party With Teddy Wilson - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 6-11-24
KP 6: What is behind the rise of the far-right in Europe - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 6-11-24
KP 7: Far Right Surges in European Elections - Pod Save The World - Air Date 6-12-24
KP 8: Europe Slides to the Right Unpacking the EU Parliamentary elections Part 2 - UNFTR - Air Date 6-15-24
(49:23) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the snowball effect of factors leading to a rightward shift in politics
DEEPER DIVES
(56:56) SECTION A: THE EU STRUCTURE AND ELECTION RESULTS
(1:05:58) SECTION B: IMMIGRATION AND THE CULTURE WAR
(1:24:12) SECTION C: THE PLAYBOOK AND MESSAGING OF THE FAR RIGHT
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Photo of European Parliament off-center, shifted right.
Credit: “European Parliament Strasbourg Hemicycle” by Diliff, Wikimedia | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 | Cropped -
The Growing Threat of Minority Rule (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 12/11/2021
Today we take a look at the many structures of American government that tilt to favor minority rule and conservatism which, in our case, is one and the same. Some structures like the Senate and the filibuster were intentionally designed to give extra weight to the minority while others like gerrymandering and the influence of large-dollar political donors were, well, I suppose they were designed for about the same reason but just in a different way.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Lawrence Lessig on Unrepresentative Democracy - Network for Responsible Public Policy - Air Date 10-1-21
Ch. 2: Why Wyoming Has More Power Than California in the Senate - AJ+ - Air Date 10-14-20
Ch. 3: Perpetual Minority Rule with David Faris - Battleground with Amanda Litman and Faiz Shakir - Air Date 6-10-21
Ch. 4: Biden's DOJ is SUING Texas For Their Brazenly Discriminatory Gerrymandering - The Humanist Report - Air Date 12-7-21
Ch. 5: Andrew Perez on the Filibuster - CounterSpin - Air Date 6-18-21
Ch. 6: A To-Do List for Senate Democrats - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-17-21
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 7: Chauncey DeVega On Why Democracy Might Not Survive - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 12-7-21
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 8: Final comments on public policy, human nature and Cold War talking points
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com -
Bonus Sample: Let the Kids (and Adults) Play
Air Date: 6-16-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- The importance of unsupervised playtime for children and why it's disappearing
- The roots and consequences of over-scheduling kids and why it's so hard to cut back
- The rise of the "Kidult"
REFERENCES:
Parents: Keep Out! - Hidden Brain
The Fine Art of Underscheduling
Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals— For Themselves
Let Grow Play Club
Chasing Childhood documentary
Join our Discord Server
Leave a message at 202-999-3991
Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft
Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Review the show on Apple Podcasts! -
The Supreme Court Is In Bad Shape. Like, Really Bad. And SCOTUS Is Going To Take Us All Down With Them
Air Date 6/14/2024
We're in the middle of Supreme Court opinion season, which is not going well for non-extreme conservatives in the country, at the same time as scandal, corruption, and justices Thomas and Alito's refusal to recuse in the face of clear bias is reaching a modern peak.
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Transcript
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KEY POINTS
1: Opinionpalooza A Bad June Rising At SCOTUS Part 1 - Amicus
2: How The Mifepristone Case Reached SCOTUS - Amicus
3: Way Too Close Insane SCOTUS Case Could've Sunk The Country w Mark Joseph Stern - The Majority Report
4: Fact-Checking the Supreme Court - 99% Invisible
5: The IVF Decision We Should Have Seen Coming - Amicus
6: SCOTUS Flag Neighbor Exposes Alito’s BS Story- The Majority Report
7: Delegitimize The Court - Contempt of Court
(1:03:35) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On some of Alito's finer absurdity
Articles:
Alito says the Supreme Court’s fake ethics code allows him to be unethical
The Republican Party's man inside the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court's new voting rights decision is a love letter to gerrymandering
DEEPER DIVES
(1:14:19) SECTION A: DO FACTS MATTER?
(1:45:47) SECTION B: POLICING MEDICAL CARE
(2:15:48) SECTION C: THE REPUBLICAN COURT WE’VE ALL WAITED FOR
(2:42:24) SECTION D: SCOTUS IS A FLAWED SYSTEM
Description: Photo of the U.S. Supreme Court building with an ominous red filter. An image of golden, uneven scales of justice sits on top.
Credit: Composite design by A. Hoffman. / Photo: “The Supreme Court” by Glenn Beltz, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Overlaid with red and imagery as part of composite. / Illustration: “Uneven scales of justice” via TheDigitalArtist, Pixabay. -
Democracy on the Decline: The US is not alone in facing threats to democracy, others countries are showing how democracies fail
Air Date 6/11/2024
Democracies don't break all of a sudden in a moment of crisis, they fail slowly over time and only by knowing the warning signs and responding effectively to the threat before it's too late can the worst be averted.
Call or text at 202-999-3991, email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Transcript
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
Join our Discord community!
KEY POINTS
1: Why and Where is Democracy in Decline? - TLDR News
2: Is Democracy Under Threat? - Tufts University
3: The decline of American democracy won't be televised - Vox
4: How Republicans are fueling Russia and China_s global effort to undermine democracy - Velshi
5: How Republican Attorneys General are Undermining Voting Rights - Democracy Docket
6: Democracy vs. Autocracy: An Unproductive Dichotomy - Marxist Project
7: When Democracy Breaks: Final Thoughts with Archon Fung, David Moss and Arne Westad - Democracy Paradox
8: Protecting Voting Rights with Eric Holder - Why Is This Happening?
9: Rich Logis Escaped the Trump - MAGA Cult -- Heed His Warnings About Its Power and Extreme Danger to America - Chauncey DeVega Show
10: "The President of Forgetting" - Dastardly Cleverness in the Service of Good
(1:03:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Those who defend authoritarians against criticism during D-Day commemoration
Conservatives Angry at Biden’s Anti-Nazi D-Day Speech
Fighting Trump on the Beaches
DEEPER DIVES
(1:09:52) SECTION A: DISSECTION OF DEMOCRACY
(1:31:56) SECTION B: INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRACY
(2:09:54) SECTION C: THE CULT OF TRUMP
(2:36:47) SECTION D: DEMOCRACY IN ACTION
IMAGE:
Description: Black and white photo of a person holding a homemade sign that says “Fighting for Democracy”
Credit: “For Democracy” by Alisdare Hickson, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Change: Cropped -
Bonus Sample: Uncertain and Powerless
Air Date: 06-09-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- how focusing on the "politics" of an event trivializes the impact that event has on real people
- the detrimental effects combining the daily news grind and the prioritization of profits forces has on news coverage
- how keeping news coverage light and ignoring the effects of neoliberalism leaves desperate people vulnerable to fascism
- the way history is repeating itself when it comes to news media not treating a demagogue's rhetoric as the emergency it is
- the difference between symbolic beliefs vs factual beliefs
REFERENCES:
Why Americans Hate the Media
The Media Still Doesn’t Grasp the Danger of Trump
Don’t Believe What They’re Telling You About Misinformation
Join our Discord Server
Leave a message at 202-999-3991
Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft
Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Review the show on Apple Podcasts!